Miles Hiked 36.9
Elevation 4,000 feet
Mile Hiked Today 4.9
Today is the last day of the Zion National Park Hike. I was up before 7:00 AM, took down my tent and packed up everything in preparation for the hike. The rest of the group was up and in various stages of eating breakfast and packing up. I waited around for awhile, but then decided to go on ahead by myself. So at 7:45, I started hiking down the trail.
This part of the trail was along a wall of rock with a straight down drop-off on the opposite side. While I wouldn’t consider it dangerous, I certainly would not want to hike it in the rain (or after a few drinks). The trail was mostly on a gradual descent, which made the hiking fast and easy.
The distance was not far and I came upon the staging area for those choosing to climb up Angels Landing. Angels Landing has a unique distinction. It is called one of the most dangerous hikes in the United States. The hike up is narrow and without guardrails. There are chains in spots to help hikers navigate the trail.
A park service description of Angels Landing reads, “Angels Landing, known previously as the Temple of Aeolus, is a 1,488-foot tall rock formation in Zion National Park in southwestern Utah, United States. A trail cut into solid rock in 1926 leads to the top of Angels Landing and provides views of Zion Canyon.”
I didn’t go up Angels Landing. Too many people were on the ascent and I didn’t like the idea of depending on them to move along at a pace that I would choose for myself. As it turns out, only a couple of our group did go up the climb to the top.
After having something to eat, Bob and I decided to start down the grotto trail and get a shuttle to the visitor center and our campsite for the night. The descent was very steep; although it was on a paved path. After getting to the bottom, I looked up and decided that there was no way I would want to go up that path with or without a backpack.
Once at the bottom, Bob and I caught a shuttle to the visitor center, and secured the “B” campsite at the south campground for the night. And that was the end of our Zion National Park hike.
